The CW Picks Up LIFE UNEXPECTED, ONE TREE HILL, NIKITA, HELLCATS

Many incorrectly predicted that it would be an either/or situation for the renewal decisions of Life Unexpected and One Tree Hill on The CW.  (I incorrectly predicted a “neither” situation.  Yikes.)  It turns out that the netlet had room to renew both the veteran soap and the freshman family drama for another season.  Rumors suggest that each series might receive an order of 12-13 episodes and split a timeslot over the season, but I’m sure the details will be ironed out in time for The CW’s upfront presentation on May 20.

In addition to the renewals, The CW ordered action-thriller Nikita and cheerleading drama Hellcats for the fall lineup.  Check out the details for the new pickups after the break.

Here are the synopses, via The Live Feed:

HELLCATS
Plot: “Hellcats is about a college cheerleading squad at a Southern university, and is from Bonanza/Warner Bros/CBS TV.”
Cast/Crew: cast includes Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical) and Aly Michalka (Bandslam)

NIKITA
Plot: “The Warner Bros/Wonderland series stars martial arts expert Maggie Q as an assassin who goes rogue.”
Cast/Crew: created by Craig Silverstein (Bones); stars Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III)

Nikita is a remake of the 1990 French film of the same name, directed by Luc Besson.  I will include the fuller synopsis and trailer for that film, in the event that indicates what is in store for us on a weekly basis this fall on The CW.

French director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) broke the commercial taboo against female-driven action movies with this seminal, seductively slick film about a violent street punk (Anne Parillaud) trained to become a smooth, stylish assassin. Though it amounts, in the end, to little more than disposable pop, the film has a cohesiveness in style and tone–akin to the early James Bond films–that gives it a sense of integrity. Parillaud is compelling both as a wild child and chic-but-lethal pro (trained in good manners by none other than Jeanne Moreau). Tchéky Karyo is also good as the cop mentor who develops feelings for her.

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